Death of a Homunculus
by PwnedByPineapple
Summary: What happens to a homunculus when it dies? Greed sure doesn't know, but he likes where it's heading.


**A challenge to pick a character from Fullmetal Alchemist and a character from Tsubasa and have them meet; I chose Greed and clone!Syaoran because they're very similar. Spoilers for the end of Fullmetal Alchemist as well as Tsubasa.**

**Takes place after the FMA manga and during the time clone!Syaoran was reborn but before he found Sakura. **

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><p>Death was certainly an <em>interesting<em> experience.

Greed had been a little surprised to find that he was okay with dying. It was probably because he'd won, in every sense of the word – well, except for the dying part. But he'd gained what his 'father' didn't have and, more importantly, he'd helped to bring the old bastard down.

He'd expected to fade into nothing. After all, he was the embodiment of a sin. There was no afterlife for something like him… was there?

But there was _something_.

He was standing beside a busy street in a town that couldn't be a part of the only world he'd known; no, things were too different here. Structures were strange, vehicles were different, people wore odd clothes. Greed looked down at his hands. They were solid and his own, not shared by a thousand other souls. There was no Philosopher's Stone burning at his core, no whisper of souls that he'd long since learned to tune out, no superhuman abilities ready to surface at his will. He felt distinctly… human, he guessed. Was this how humans felt? Grounded, solitary, powerless?

Weird. But oddly freeing.

Was this death for a homunculus? It had to be. What else was there?

A crowd of people surged around him, going about their daily, human lives. They were real, he knew… as real as he seemed to be. It didn't really feel like death. If this was the afterlife, then, apart from a few material differences, why was it the same as before?

Too many philosophical questions. Greed shook his head. Nope – tough thinking was not for him. Shrugging and sliding hands into pockets, he sidled up to one of the passers-by, a brown-haired boy with a serious face.

"Hey, kid," he said. "Where is this?"

The boy looked at him curiously and seemed to understand something at once. "You're not of this world, are you?" he asked.

"Don't think so, no." Greed took things in stride. Even death. Or whatever this was.

"How did you get here?"

Greed shrugged. "I think I died. This isn't the afterlife, is it?"

The boy shook his head. "This is one of many worlds." He seemed thoughtful. "Who are you?"

"I was known as Greed. Now…" the former homunculus hesitated. Who _was_ he, now? "I guess you can just call me Greed."

The boy quirked an eyebrow. "And you can call me Syaoran," he said, offering his hand.

They shook.

"So…" said Greed. That was all well and good, but what exactly was he supposed to _do_? Had he been given another chance or something? Gah. Nothing made sense. "How did you know?"

"You're different from everyone else," Syaoran explained. "I traveled between worlds, once. It isn't hard to recognize another traveler."

"I wasn't aware that I was one," Greed said dryly.

Syaoran gave a small smile. "Well, there's that. This is definitely strange." He had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Why don't we walk?"

The two fell into step, moving with the crowd, until at last they reached quieter streets and less people. There, Syaoran stopped, turning to face Greed. "Would you mind telling me how you died?" he asked. "It could help."

Greed shrugged. "My creator destroyed my essence."

"Your creator?"

"I wasn't always human." Once again, Greed looked down at his strangely powerless human body. Was he truly human now?

Syaoran was nodding, as if he understood something. "What were you?"

"I was a homunculus, the living embodiment of my father's greed. I turned against him to save something more important than his goals… than my goals. He threw a tantrum and killed me." Greed grinned at the memory. Really, getting a rise out of Father was always such fun.

(_**Well, hello, little Greed.**_)

A single memory, a single sentence returned to him suddenly; a voice like his own, but echoing, overlapping with itself and something deeper, a voice that made _him_, Greed itself, shiver.

(_**You've certainly become interesting. It would be a shame for you to return to me.**_)

"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, concerned.

Greed realized he'd been staring off into the distance as the words played themselves in his head. He shook himself. "Yeah. Just a weird memory." What _was_ that, and why did it feel so important?

(_**Well? You made a great sacrifice. Why let it go to waste?**_)

"Greed?"

"Huh?" Greed blinked. He'd been seeing a white expanse in his mind's eye and… a figure, shaped vaguely like himself. Its voice was speaking in his memory.

(_**I can give you another chance. I'm afraid you can't return to your own world, but there are many, little Greed.**_)

Syaoran had said the same thing. Many worlds. What was happening?

(_**You once wanted to own the world. Having the power to travel all of them… it's almost the same thing, isn't it? It is freedom.**_)

"Why give it to me?" The words slipped out, muttered, to the voice and the white figure in his memory.

(_**Equivalent exchange. You gave up your life; I must offer something in return. It is what you truly want, isn't it?**_)

Worlds? If he couldn't go back, then it was the next best thing. "Yes," he said, the words hungering, holding a little of the greed he embodied.

(_**Then I look forward to seeing what you do. As I said before, you are quite interesting. Farewell, little Greed.**_)

And that had been it.

Greed looked up. Syaoran was watching him, frowning. Greed realized he'd been speaking aloud.

"I think," he said slowly, "I've been given another chance. The power to travel worlds… is it common?"

Syaoran looked surprised. "Not at all. It takes great power."

A slow grin spread across Greed's face. Really, now?

"I've remembered something," he said. "It's definitely a second chance. Don't know what scum like me did to deserve it, but hey… I'm not complaining."

Syaoran smiled. "It's wise to take advantage of a second chance."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"I do." Syaoran had that thoughtful look on his face again. "It doesn't seem like you need my help, now."

"I don't think so. Unless you happen to know of an interesting world to travel to."

"I know a lot of them, actually."

It probably would have been interesting to stay. It was a little too much of a coincidence that the first person Greed met had traveled worlds as well. But the former homunculus was itching to try out his reward.

"Huh," he said. "You wouldn't happen to know how to turn world-hopping powers on, would you?"

"I'd say it's pretty instinctive."

Then it was like his homunculus-based power. Greed nodded. "Okay, then. In case this works, it was nice meeting ya, Syaoran."

They shook hands once more.

"I may drop by again," Greed said. "Once I get the hang of this thing."

Syaoran took a step back. "Then I'll look forward to seeing you. And maybe hearing more of your story."

Greed decided he _would_ stop by again, trade stories with this kid. He had a feeling there was as much of a story behind Syaoran as there was behind himself.

"What's the name of this world, anyway?" he asked.

"It's one of the dimensions of Earth," Syaoran answered.

Greed nodded and gave a little wave. "I wonder where I'll turn up," he said to himself. He didn't really care, as long as it was interesting. Maybe with a few pretty girls or something.

Syaoran was right; the power was entirely instinctive. All it took was a little nudging, and suddenly he knew he could walk wherever he wanted.

Truth had been right. It was just as good as owning the world.

Greed laughed and stepped into another reality.


End file.
